Iron County register., 1887-04-21
CONGRATULATIONS.

| ORGANIZATIONS.
The Senate Committee Investigating the
Subject OF Undervaluations of Imports
About Ready to Report-They Will Rec
0mmend Legislation to Correct Existing
| Abuses.
| WASHINGTON, April 14.-The Senate
finance subcommittee on undervaluation
! Of imports, after nearly two years spent
in investigating the subject, are about
| ready to submit plan to remedy existing
| abuses. Senator Beck, member of the
| committee, in an interview with Star
| reporter, gave an insight into the difficult
| problem which has so long engaged the
| attention of the committee, and of the
| proposed plan for the prevention of un-
dervaluation: Senator Beck said:
"We had before US an immense mass Of
| evidence, the statement OF experts sup
ported by figures. the data collected by
| the propositions that have been made to
| correct the abuses. Every bill that
| has been introduced into Con-
gress with relation to the sub
| lect has been carefully considered, and
we are now endeavorlng to formulate
a bill which will improve the entire sys-
| tenn. 1t is an immense question-gr
| think, than that of the Interstate COM
| merce and more difficult to deal with. No
| get into it. It affects our entire customs
| system, the consular service and all the
| business interests of the country. There
| Is scramble among Importers" he said,
| ito get the valuations as low as possible.
| II one can get his goods in cheaper than
| his neighbors, he can undersell them.
| Thus there is constant cut-throat game
| going on that affects prices all over the
| country. Exporters send their goods
| So h0l@ hot,
| real value, and sell them in
bond, the transaction being conducted
| on the other side. There is no uniformity
Of valuation. Some merchants pay one
| price, some another, for the same articles,
| and those who pay less duty can under
sell the others. And goods are rated
differently at different ports. Then the
| system of merchants appraisers is bad.
You may set to-day an appraisement of
goods for man who will tomorrow be
called upon to fix value on goods of
yours. There is likely to be a tendency
between you to be liberal with each other.
1t is asserted that merchants accommo-
date each other in their appraisements.
We have studied the matter care
fully, and think the most important
thing is to secure an uniformity
# valuation. To have the valuation uni
form is more important even than to have
| it just. We can not have the importer
paying immense duties On hat Innings, for
| instance, at one port while the importer
at another port pays merely a nominal
duty. ALI the proper relations Of trade
are disturbed.
"We are through with our investigation
now, and in a few days will have meas
ure prepared, which we will submit to the
Secretary of the Treasury for his opinion.
We were gratified yesterday, when Mr..
Magone, the Collector of the port of New
York, was before US at the Capitol, to find
that his forty years. experience with the
subject had led him to about the same
conclusions we had arrived at"
The Senator thus outlined the Sub-com-
mittee's plan:
1.-The measure is not fully formulated,
but our idea is to do away with merchant
appraisers and to provide for the appoint
ment of nine appraisers by the Govern.
ment. three of whom will be located per-
manently in New York City. The other
six will be in char ge of other ports, and
will make a uniform appraisement
The three appraisers at New York will
act as sort of board of appeal,
to which questions in dispute will be car
lied. The plan may include the construc-
ZION of a government sample house, where
the classification of goods may be de-
termined and uniformity of valuations
secured. We want also to improve the
consular service, so as to make it help
to the customs service, instead of him
drance, as it now is. We will submit our
general plan to the Secretary OF
the Treasury and to the collectors Of
the ports of Boston, New York and Phila-
delphia and others and will have the bill
ready to present to the Senate as soon as
Congress meets. The Senate wants to do
all it can in the matter. We can not do
any thing with the rates of customs du-
ties, though there are glaring defects.
until the House takes the first step; but
we can help the matter along by the prep
aration of this biiI.''
Don Cameron on the Interstate Conn
merce Law,
WASHINGTON, April 13.-"I voted against
the Inter- State Commerce BILL" said Don
Cameron, ''because l thought running
railroads by act Of Congress was going
little t 90 far in the line of governmental
interference with private business and
private rights. l think if some of those
so-caIled constitutional lawyers in Con-
gress had looked more to the spirit of the
constitution and some of the coincident
conditions when it was adopted they
would have seen that this provision
aimed chiefly as remedy for the defects
of the cid articles Of confedera ton, which,
as every reader of even elementary
school history would know, gave each
State the right to legislate, levy duties
and manage it's own commerce, which
naturally led to conflict, confusion and
embarrassment.
t'The con stitutional convention Of 1877
had more trouble in adjusting this rivalry
Of interest than any thing else. It was
one of the elements of National authority
to give the supreme Government the pow
er to regulate commerce between the
States On the same theory that it had the
power granted it to exercise the supreme
authority to regulate intercourse with
foreign countries. The projectors of this
apparently indefensible misconstruction
of the provisions of the constitution and
the powers of Congress will find out their
mistake, and they will not be able to rem
edy 1t short Of repeal.
sThe very first act of the commission has
been suspension of the long and short
haul provisions, and that, with the pool
ing, was the main point with the advo-
Gates of statutory railroad management
and regulation of inhexible economic
laws. That is an admission OF the imprac-
ticability of the underlying theory of the
act. Now we will see what will come
next. Only so the commissioners do not
disturb the many interests involved in
discover that the whole thing is wrong on
principle"
Increase of Postal Receipts.
WASHINGTON, April IA statement
prepared at the Post-Ofice Department
showing the gross postal receipts at thir-
tv of the larger nost-offjces for the ouar-